EY’s Thames Valley and South offices recruit 62 students

The Thames Valley and South offices of professional services group EY have recruited 62 students as part of the company’s nationwide investment in young people.

EY’s Reading and Southampton offices have hired 50 graduates and 12 apprentices through student programmes. Of these, 36 per cent in Reading and 23 per cent in Southampton are women, with 45 per cent in Reading and 54 per cent in Southampton coming from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Gareth Anderson, EY’s Managing Partner for Thames Valley and South, added: “Our commitment to recruiting new talent demonstrates the strength of our business and the opportunities available across the region.

“I’m pleased to welcome this new cohort of students who will be working across our business areas and look forward to seeing their careers grow and flourish at EY.”

The new hires are part of a record nationwide cohort of 1,473 students recruited in 2022, which is a rise of 35 per cent compared to 2021. This consists of 1,269 graduates and 204 apprentices. Nearly 40 per cent of these are based outside London.

On top of this, more than 470 young people across the country have benefited from work experience, summer internships and industrial placements at EY, providing insights into the business and opportunities to network and learn.

With this year’s group considered, EY has now hired more than 3,600 students in the last three years, increasing the number every year.

Hywel Ball, EY’s UK Chair, commented: “These are record numbers for EY as we continue to invest in young talent to support our growth across the UK.

“We’re continuing to see strong levels of client demand and continued investment across the firm, which is why we’ve increased our student intake year on year, over the last three years, and hired more than 3,600 students.

“This is an important talent pool for EY that we want to nurture and support as they begin their careers. It’s also why for a third year running, we honoured all conditional offers we made prior to A-Level and Highers results in recognition that many students had their studies disrupted during the course of the pandemic.

“Over the coming months, our new students will spend time getting to know their colleagues across EY, begin their training and start working with clients.”

Read more - University of Sussex launches innovation network

In an effort to make it more accessible, EY has recently invested in new technologies and processes to make applying for its student recruitment programme simpler, open to ensure it is open to students from all backgrounds by removing unnecessary recruitment barriers.

One component of this is a streamlined process, which sees applicants able to complete applications in one go, rather than multiple sittings. EY has also sped up its hiring decision-making.

The firm is also investing in virtual tools. Its new virtual careers centre supports early career decisions through resources, and it also uses virtual reality job simulations at careers fairs to offer a look into working for EY.

It has also launched a virtual reality internship for its tech consulting business, which is a combination of in-person, remote and virtual reality work. Using purpose-built virtual environments, interns can learn about sustainability and gain a realistic preview of the job.

EY is currently collaborating with Jack Parson, CEO of the Youth Group to achieve Youth Verified status. The Youth Group is focused on helping young people thrive and its industry-leading accreditation is building trust between young people and employers. 

Justine Campbell, EY’s Managing Partner for Talent in the UK, says: “Young talent is essential to our future business growth. We are consistently improving accessibility through a range of entry routes to attract and retain the UK’s best and diverse talent.

"We were the first of the Big Four to remove the 2:1 academic criteria for all graduate roles in 2015, and our recruitment processes have evolved and continue to be market-leading.

“We’re excited to return to on-campus events as it’s an important touchpoint for us to meet and engage with potential student recruits.

"Over the next two weeks, we will be visiting 35 campuses across the UK in person and virtually, where our people will be talking about EY and offering virtual reality simulations, where potential candidates can experience what it’s like to work for us, alongside giveaways and fireside chats. We really value our time on campus to showcase our brand and get feedback from students.”

Read more - UK should narrowly avoid recession says EY ITEM Club

Featured image: iStock